Mumbai Indians squad is full of oddities. The highest paid player, Jasprit Bumrah, is not the captain. They have the Indian Test and ODI captain in Rohit Sharma. They also have the Indian T20 team captain in Suryakumar Yadav. Then, they have their own captain Hardik Pandya. Clash of ideologies is bound to happen in any high profile environment and in Mumbai Indians’ case, it is more likely to occur. One such moment came at a crucial juncture between the match between LSG v MI in Lucknow on Friday.
The unusual dismissal
Chasing 205, Mumbai Indians reached the point where they needed 24 runs from 7 balls. Tilak Varma, batting on 25 off 23, was asked to get retired out. Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain, replaced Tilak Varma and scored 2 runs in the final ball of the 19th over.
Suryakumar Yadav shows displeasure
The decision to retire out Tilak Varma didn’t sit well with Suryakumar Yadav.
Suryakumar Yadav was visibly upset with the decision, and was provided the explanation by the head coach, Mahela Jayawardene. Suryakumar knows Tilak’s potential more than anyone else. Tilak showed his finishing prowess not too long ago. His unbeaten 72 helped India to ace a tricky chase against England in Chennai in January.
Mahela Jayawardene’s explanation
Speaking to the media after the defeat to LSG, the head coach of Mumbai Indians, Mahela Jayawardene explained the rationale behind the decision to retire out Tilak Varma.
“I just needed someone fresh, it wasn’t nice to do that, but I had to do. It was a tactical decision at that point,”.
Experts weigh in
Former Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh wasn’t so pleased with the decision.
Harbhajan Singh has a solid point. Mitchell Santner has a T20 career strike rate of 130 and a modest strike rate of 106 in IPL. Tilak Varma, on the other hand is the first cricketer to score three consecutive centuries in T20s. Even Hardik Pandya’s decision to not run a single off the third and fourth ball of the final over is proof that Santner wasn’t going to smash the big hits. Hardik backed his own hitting ability and eventually couldn’t bring the desired outcome. Did Mumbai Indians stirred the pot needlessly?
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
